Methodist Hospitals has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.

These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.

“Methodist Hospitals continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement award further reinforces our team’s hard work.”

Methodist Hospitals has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center certified through the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), a nationally recognized organization that has been accrediting healthcare facilities for more than 60 years.

“The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize Methodist Hospitals for its commitment to stroke care,” said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. “Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program.”

Get With The Guidelines®-S puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospital care teams ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal to save lives and improve recovery time, Get With The Guidelines®-S has impacted more than 3 million patients since 2003.

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About Methodist Hospitals

Methodist Hospitals is a community-based, not-for-profit health system with two full-service acute care facilities in Gary and Merrillville, Indiana, that has been leading the way to better health for residents of Northwest Indiana for almost 100 years. Methodist Hospitals offers a number of award – winning programs, including its Neuroscience, Oncology, Heart and Vascular Institutes and Breast Care Center. Its range of services also includes Women & Children’s Services, Bariatric Surgery services, Emergency & Trauma services, Immediate Care Centers, Orthopedics & Spine services, comprehensive Rehabilitation services, Behavioral Health and Home Health Services.

About Get With The Guidelines®

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.